Back from the bye: Tuesday lunch ramblings

Some quick hits from Tuesday's weekly media luncheon...

Lots of questions regarding UConn's potential place in the national polls and what could happen with a win at Virginia on Saturday. Randy Edsall wasn't too interested in discussing any of it. "“There’s no sense talking about that because there’s nothing there,” Edsall said. “Nothing matters to us except winning … I don’t even want to talk about anything else.” Quite frankly, he's right. Why waste time talking about not being ranked or the significance of a potential ranking? There'll be plenty of time for that if and when it happens. Edsall, rightly, is more concerned with his team preparing for and then executing on Saturday. If they can do that, the attention in the polls will come. Of course the media, myself included, will write plenty about a looming national ranking anyway. Hey, it's still a story even if Edsall isn't willing to talk about it.

Should UConn beat Virginia on Saturday, I'd expect the Huskies to come in around No. 20. A win won't come easy, though.

Perfect timing for a bye week, Edsall said. Counting practice in August, the Huskies were eight weeks into the season with seven remaining, which can be construed as midseason. It also gave some valuable time to heal. Donald Brown and Tyvon Branch are "fine", and Lawrence Green returned to practice Sunday for the first time since his knee injury on Sept. 1 at Duke. Green is listed as the backup to Alex LaMagdelaine. Once he gets back into game shape, he should re assume his starting role. The only injuries are to Aaron Bagsby (his shoulder just hasn't come around) and Gary Mack, both backups. KijuanDabney, whose been backing up Robert Vaughn for the last few games, was finally listed on the depth chart.

Also from the depth chart is the move of freshman Greg Lloyd Jr. from weakside linebacker to middle linebacker, where he'll backup Danny Lansanah along with Aaron Bryant. It's a natural move, Edsall says. It also gives depth to the most important position on the defense. At right tackle, Mike Hicks and Dan Ryan are listed as co-starters. Neither has been especially dazzling so far. The competition continues.

From the boxscore of an incredible Monday Night Football game...Dallas FB Deon Anderson -- four catches, 39 yards. Terrell Owens -- two catches, 25 yards. Edsall spoke about how proud he is that Deon has taken advantage of the opportunity, but mentioned his favorite part of the game may have been when Mike Tirico announced "Deon Anderson, the fullback from UConn" after his catch. "That helps with recruiting," Edsall said.

The week off allowed the players to take Saturday off. Many of the locals headed home. Dan Davis and Andre Dixon, both from Northern New Jersey, attended the Rutgers-Cincinnati game at Rutgers Stadium. "The place was bananas," said Davis, who also mentioned the game moves by a lot quicker when you're not playing.

I'll reserve comment on another stellar Yankees postseason other than to say I'm not the least bit surprised. These guys haven't hit in the playoffs since Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. But forget the talk about Joe Torre's impending dismissal (which I support). Do we finally have enough to send SuzynWaldman packing...preferably on her way to the Lifetime Channel or W Network? If her infamous shrieking (Rahw-jah Clemens is in Jaw-gez' bawx!!! Oh, my goodness gracious!!!), her incessant rooting, her rampant ineptitude, sticking her tongue in Joe Torre's ear during every interview (wait, did that happen? maybe not, but you get the picture)...if all that wasn't enough....Crying on the air?!!? Are you serious? A proud moment for sports broadcasters everywhere.